From fractional shares to screenwriting classes, here are a few options to brighten the futures of your family and friends this season.
Giving the usual store-bought holiday presents can feel off at a time when so many people are worried about their finances. Perhaps more fitting this season are gifts that set someone on a firmer path to financial independence or help them become a better saver or investor.
Here are some ideas for gift-givers to make someone’s holiday merrier — and financial future brighter. The options, ordered by price, range from books about the psychology of money to Bitcoin to even more creative, career-oriented options such as screenwriting classes.
Books for the money-minded reader:
$50 — “Getting on solid financial ground is about consistently making lots of small decisions over a long period,” says financial planner Christopher Struckhoff of Lionheart Capital Management. “While I’m not discounting contributions to a college 529 plan or a Roth IRA, a good book can help in building that mindset.” Struckhoff likes to give friends and clients “The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed and Happiness” by Morgan Housel. It is the rare personal finance book that is being turned into a movie. He also likes “How I Invest My Money: Finance Experts Reveal How They Save, Spend and Invest” by Joshua Brown and Brian Portnoy. And a classic Struckhoff likes to give is Burton Malkiel’s “A Random Walk Down Wall Street.”
For stock watchers:
$100 — These days fractional share programs allow pretty much anyone to buy portions of stocks they might not otherwise be able to afford. Stakes like this given to a child, for example, could be housed in a custodial account at a financial firm where you already have an account. When you create and contribute to a so-called UGMA account (short for Uniform Gifts to Minors Act) or UTMA (Uniform Transfers to Minors Act), it’s an irrevocable gift, but one you control until the child is 18 or the age of majority in your state. Keep in mind that 20% of the account value will count in applications for financial aid to college.
For the person between jobs:
$150 to $216 — If you want to give someone the chance to develop new knowledge and skills, platforms such as MasterClass.com and Great Courses Plus have gift memberships. Great Courses’ “Professional and Personal Growth” category includes introductory programs on topics including web development and machine learning. A year-long gift plan is $150. MasterClass, meanwhile, offers two annual memberships for $180; that buys access to more than 90 classes on its platform for you and someone else. A budding screenwriter might enjoy Aaron Sorkin’s class, or one by Shonda Rhimes about writing for television. You could also give the gift of networking by funding someone’s “Premium Career” membership on LinkedIn. Premium members can send messages to LinkedIn members without the usual need to be already connected with them, and can see who has viewed their profile over the last 90 days. It costs $29.99 a month or $216 for the year.
For those with student loan debt:
$100 to $1,000 — Making an extra one-time payment toward paying back some of the principal on a student loan can be a long-term blessing, says financial adviser Charles Thomas III of Intrepid Eagle Finance. Just be sure the recipient is clear that your gift isn’t meant to substitute for their monthly payment, but is on top of that. Gifters should remember that their present is subject to the annual U.S. IRS gift tax limits, which are $15,000 per person or $30,000 for a married couple filing taxes jointly.
For people who hate thinking about their finances:
Amounts vary — Some people find the thought of managing their money so stressful that they largely avoid it. A gift of a session with a fee-only financial planner might be a good choice for them, if you can frame it as a gift to relieve stress, and not as a chore. That could set you back a few hundred or, more likely, a few thousand dollars. You could use a little friendly bribery, and note on a gift card that they’ll be rewarded with a few hundred dollars to invest after they have the appointment. If you don’t have a planner of your own to recommend, respected planner networks include the Garrett Planning Network, the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors and the XY Planning Network.
For the Bitcoin believer — or skeptic:
$100 to $19,246 (or the latest price of 1 Bitcoin) — Bitcoin has been on fire, so the gift you give here could be one that keeps giving — or could implode. It also might be an opportunity to give those who have been overly bearish on the cryptocurrency a taste test. While the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) tracks the underlying price of Bitcoin, it trades at a persistent premium as its shares are created by private placement, says Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Morgan Barna. It’s popular among those who want to have Bitcoin exposure in a brokerage account rather than transact on a separate platform, and the trust has added $1.6 billion in assets so far this year. It’s a lot simpler to just gift Bitcoin directly on a platform where you and the recipient both have accounts, such as Coinbase, or from a Coinbase account to a cryptowallet. You can send $100 worth of Bitcoin in an email to a Coinbase user, or send to a wallet address.
For the person saving up for a first home:
Amounts vary — This is a bit extreme, but financial planner Ian Bloom of Open World Financial Life Planning has seen parents give a down payment on a young adult’s first house for Christmas. The parents gave their child a box that has a tiny model home in it, with a note attached that read “IOU $40,000.” The gift enabled the child to make a 20% down payment on a home.
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From fractional shares to screenwriting classes, here are a few options to brighten the futures of your family and friends this season. Giving the usual store-bought holiday presents can feel off at a time when so many people are worried about their finances. Perhaps more fitting this season are gifts that set someone on a firmer path […]
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